A major outburst from the X-ray binary RX J0520.5-6932

We report on the analysis of 8 years of MAssive Compact Halo Objects (MACHO) data for the source RX J0520.5-6932. A regular period of 24.4 days has been confirmed, however this is manifest almost entirely in the red part of the spectrum. A major outburst, lasting approximately 200 days, was observed which increased the apparent brightness of the object by approximately 0.15 magnitudes without significantly altering its V-R colour index. This outburst was also seen in X-ray data. The evidence from this analysis points to the identification of this object as a Be/X-ray binary with a periodically variable circumstellar disk and a very early optical counterpart.Comment: Paper has been accepted by MNRA

FUSE Spectra of the Black Hole Binary LMC X-3

Far-ultraviolet spectra of LMC X-3 were taken covering photometric phases 0.47 to 0.74 in the 1.7-day orbital period of the black-hole binary (phase zero being superior conjunction of the X-ray source). The continuum is faint and flat, but appears to vary significantly during the observations. Concurrent RXTE/ASM observations show the system was in its most luminous X-ray state during the FUSE observations. The FUV spectrum contains strong terrestrial airglow emission lines, while the only stellar lines clearly present are emissions from the O VI resonance doublet. Their flux does not change significantly during the FUSE observations. These lines are modelled as two asymmetrical profiles, including the local ISM absorptions due to C II and possibly O VI. Velocity variations of O VI emission are consistent with the orbital velocity of the black hole and provide a new constraint on its mass.Comment: 12 pages including 1 table, 4 diagrams To appear in A

Orbital Period Determinations for Four SMC Be/X-ray Binaries

We present an optical and X-ray study of four Be/X-ray binaries located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). OGLE I-band data of up to 11 years of semi-continuous monitoring has been analysed for SMC X-2, SXP172 and SXP202B, providing both a measurement of the orbital period (Porb = 18.62, 68.90, and 229.9 days for the pulsars respectively) and a detailed optical orbital profile for each pulsar. For SXP172 this has allowed a direct comparison of the optical and X-ray emission seen through regular RXTE monitoring, revealing that the X-ray outbursts precede the optical by around 7 days. Recent X-ray studies by XMM-Newton have identified a new source in the vicinity of SXP15.3 raising doubt on the identification of the optical counterpart to this X-ray pulsar. Here we present a discussion of the observations that led to the proposal of the original counterpart and a detailed optical analysis of the counterpart to the new X-ray source, identifying a 21.7 d periodicity in the OGLE I-band data. The optical characteristics of this star are consistent with that of a SMC Be/X-ray binary. However, this star was rejected as the counterpart to SXP15.3 in previous studies due to the lack of H{\alpha} emission.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 11 pages, 17 figure

Announcing the Officers of the Faculty Forum

News release announcing the officers of the Faculty Forum at the University of Dayton

Tc-Glutathione Complex (Tc -GSH) : Labelling, Chemical Characterization and Biodistribution in Rats

The chemical structure of 99mTc-GSH has been estabilished using the 99Tc isotope. Labeling of glutathione with technetium in the presence of stanous chloride gave a high yield result. In a comparative study between 99Tc and 99Tc glutathione, the Tc-GSH complex obtained was purified and characterized by uv, visible spectroscopy, HPLC, Biogel chromatography, mass and NMR spectroscopy. Stoichiometric analysis showed a 2 : 1 molar ratio of GSH/Tc for the reaction. The molecular mass assessed by mass spectroscopy was 727 Da corresponding to an oxo(bis) glutathione technetate. NMR studies demonstrated that each glutathione molecule was coordinated to technetium via cysteinyl sulfur and nitrogen atoms. The biodistribution of the complex was studied in normal rats. Blood clearance was rapid during the first hour involving a biexponential curve ( t1/2 (1) : 50 min, t1/2 (2) : 400 min ). No radioactive accumulation was found in any specific organ except kidney and bladder. All the activity excreted was found unchanged in urine. In conclusion, Tc-GSH displayed an anionic dimer form as GSH-Tc-GSH. We assume that the complex is a tetradentate (2N,2S) complex containing a pentavalent technetium coordinated by two thiol and nitrogen atoms of both GSH ligands, and an apical oxo group

Selective Functionalization of Arene C(sp2 )−H Bonds by Gold Catalysis: The Role of Carbene Substituents

The complete regioselective incorporation of carbene units to nonactivated arene rings has been achieved employing gold(I) catalysts bearing alkoxydiaminophosphine ligands, with readily available, nonelaborated ethyl 2-phenyl-diazoacetate as the carbene source. These results are in contrast with the scarce precedents which required highly elaborated diazo substrates. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have revealed the important role of the R group in the C(R)CO 2Et fragment, which dramatically affects the energy profile of this transformation.We thank the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación for Grant PID2020-113797RB-C21, also financed by FEDER “Una manera de hacer Europa”. We also thank Junta de Andalucía (P18-RT-1536) and Universidad de Huelva (P.O. Feder UHU-1260216). I.S. and A.N. acknowledge the support from the Research Council of Norway through its FRINATEK (No. 314321), Centre of Excellence schemes (No. 262695), and the Norwegian Metacenter for Computational Science (NOTUR) for computational resources (project number nn4654k). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva / CBU

SPME method optimized by box-behnken design for impact odorants in reduced alcohol wines

The important sampling parameters of a headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) procedure such as the extraction temperature, extraction time, and sample volume were optimized to quantify 23 important impact odorants in reduced alcohol red and white wines. A three-factor design of Box-Behnken experiments was used to determine the optimized sampling conditions for each analyte, and a global optimized condition at every ethanol concentration of interest determined using a desirability function that accounts for a low signal response for compounds. Shiraz and Chardonnay wines were dealcoholized from 13.7 and 12.2% v/v ethanol respectively, to 8 and 5% v/v, using a commercially available membrane-based technology. A sample set of the reduced alcohol wines were also reconstituted to their natural ethanol level to evaluate the effect of the ethanol content reduction on volatile composition. The three-factor Box-Behnken experiment ensured an accurate determination of the headspace concentration of each compound at each ethanol concentration, allowing comparisons between wines at varying ethanol levels to be made. Overall, the results showed that the main effect of extraction temperature was considered the most critical factor when studying the equilibrium of reduced alcohol wine impact odorants. The impact of ethanol reduction upon the concentration of volatile compounds clearly resulted in losses of impact odorants from the wines. The concentration of most analytes decreased with dealcoholization compared to that of the natural samples. Significant differences were also found between the reconstituted volatile composition and 5% v/v reduced alcohol wines, revealing that the dealcoholization effect is the result of a combination between the type of dealcoholization treatment and reduction in wine ethanol content